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Emigration and Immigration

Whether your ancestors emigrated voluntarily or not, there are many resources available online to track them down.

This page holds a collection of resources dealing with emigration/immigration, shipping and passenger lists including convict transportation.

Highland Clearances

For those interested in the Highland Clearances, information is available using the following example as a guide.

If you google "Metagama" you will get some ship passenger lists from 1920's. This is a small example - 404 names on this list mostly from Scotland. Departed Glasgow, Scotland on Friday, June 22, 1923 Departed Belfast, Ireland on Saturday, June 23, 1923.

Trans-Atlantic Sailing to Quebec and Montreal, Canada, July 5, 1923

This was a C.P.R. liner, come to Lewis to take on those whom Manny Shinwell later described in Parliament as "the best of Scottish manhood".

The Metagama sailed on Saturday the 21st of April, 1923. From all over Lewis, they crowded into Stornoway on the Friday. Cromwell Street echoed with the banter and excited anticipation of those about to leave, mingling with the sadness of those who had come to say goodbye. (This is From West Side historical Society on Google - out of the 300 who sailed that day only 20 were NOT young men, the average age was 22.) It decimated the Island Communities and to this day they have not recovered.

Some lists are more detailed than others, but the one I got, dating from 1857, contained the following information:

1. List of immigrants per ship (sorted by family groups) containing:

Name

Whether married or single

Age

Trade

Native place and county

Religion

Whether person can read and write

Remarks

2. List of immigrants per ship as inspected by the Immigration Board, containing:

Name

Whether married or single

Age

Trade

Native place and county

Parents' names and, if alive, their residence

Religion

Whether person can read and write

Relations in the colony

State of bodily health, strength and probable usefulness

Any complaints respecting treatment on board the ship

Remarks by Immigration Board

3. Particulars:

Number of births and deaths during the voyage

Date and place of departure and arrival

Number of days on voyage

Master's name and one or two bits of technical information like tonnage.

The list I received was a photocopy of the pages which included the two families I wanted and the other names on the page, not all the passengers on the ship. It costs AUS$25 (about £11, depending on the exchange rate at the time of ordering). If you have more than one person in a family, only give one name, and you'll get the whole family. If you have another person on the same ship but in a different family, it costs an extra $6.